The First Time
by Aikat3rin3
Summary: The first time they kissed had been an accident. Sort of. More of a rebound, actually. But that was how explosive fights with Akane usually ended. Not with kisses, but with overloads of emotion on Ranma's part. That and a few good bruises. It was just that, this time, Ryoga had happened to be there.


I don't own anything but my ideas.

The First Time

The first time they kissed had been an accident.

Sort of.

More of a rebound, actually. But that was how explosive fights with Akane usually ended.

Not with kisses, but with overloads of emotion on Ranma's part. That and a few good bruises.

It was just that, this time, Ryoga had happened to be there.

It had been Ryoga's first kiss. Almost Ranma's first kiss, if it hadn't been for that asshole on skates a few years ago. And that one time with Akane when he was under the Nekoken. Not that that one really counted as a kiss.

Ranma and Ryoga had been leaving on a training journey—just a few months, nothing big, but Akane hadn't wanted him to go. Naturally, just because she had to contradict everything that he wanted or liked. It was like a reflex: he wanted something, she yelled. Typically that would follow up with him yelling back, and a nice side of a handprint or a mallet-print somewhere on his body.

Ranma wasn't even sure why she had attacked him, really. He had asked her if she was jealous—genuinely curious about it—and of course she had screamed about that.

It was just a few months, nothing that she should've gotten mad over about in the first place. Ranma's mother lived without seeing him for **years**; Akane could handle a few measly months.

She had accused him of running off so he wouldn't have to come back. That he was sick of her or something. He had denied it, calling her stupid for thinking so. Then she started on the accusations that bordered insanity.

She had accused him of going off to find some girl. He had denied, telling her that he had way too many girls right there at home.

That had really ticked her off. He wasn't entirely sure why; it was the truth, wasn't it?

Maybe that was what had caused her to bring Shampoo and Ukyo into the mix. She accused him of bringing Ukyo with him, or that he was going off to China to be with the Amazons. She wasn't even listening to his denials at that point.

She had slapped him. Hard. He'd had a bruise for a week. She'd been crying too, and he remembered wanting so bad to hold her, or apologize, or something to make it right. He really didn't want to leave things like that, especially because they'd be gone for months. But he was mad. She never trusted him. Never had and probably never would. Fuck, he was just going with Ryoga, it wasn't like he was taking Ukyo or Kodachi or Kasumi to cook or anyone else with him.

It was almost hilariously ironic that Ryoga was who Ranma had actually turned to, instead of the hoards of girls that Akane seemed to think swarmed around him like bees around honey (bears to honey would actually describe the girls better, though).

Ranma and Ryoga's first day of travel had been hell. Ranma had been fuming under the surface all day, exploding like a land mine every time Ryoga stepped too close to a nerve. God forbid he say Akane's name—all he did was mention her in passing ten minutes into the trip and Ranma had spent the next three hours trying to bury him six feet underground.

That night, Ryoga had honestly been a little nervous to go to sleep with Ranma sitting by the fire like a gargoyle, eyes burning like the embers in front of him.

Ryoga didn't know what to do. They really couldn't start a four-month journey hating each other more than they already did. That was just signing their death certificates early.

That had been the first time Ryoga touched Ranma like a real friend.

Ranma had been sitting there, elbows up on his knees, head hunched down like he was concentrating so hard on the fire that he had forgotten that he needed to use his spine to stay up straight.

Ryoga swallowed, took a leap of faith, squatted down next to Ranma, and laid his hand on his shoulder.

Ranma had started so hard that Ryoga almost fell over. He wasn't used to Ranma being so off guard; it almost scared him.

They stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment, Ranma's eyes wide in shock, Ryoga's eyes wide in preparation for a fight if Ranma decided to attack him again.

Another swallow, another leap of faith, and Ryoga squeezed Ranma's shoulder slightly, turning away to look at the fire—trusting that Ranma wouldn't kick his throat in while he wasn't looking.

The air around them changed in an instant—so fast that Ryoga blinked, suddenly able to breathe. All of the stress smothering them like a thick fog of mustard gas had dispersed with Ranma's anger.

Ryoga had never seen Ranma accept him that fast, not this close. He had looked up, back into Ranma's eyes to find them cool now. Impossibly cool—just like the Hiryu Shoten Ha.

And then Ranma moved. His arm moved from its resting place on his knee, and his cold, powerful hand had found Ryoga's cheek. Before Ryoga could even suck in a breath, Ranma had leaned in and pressed their lips firmly together.

It wouldn't be until weeks later that Ryoga would figure out how rejected Ranma had felt that night—how forceful his despair was. It hadn't been anger that had made Ranma so twitchy all day—it had been despondency.

Ranma moved against him slowly, as if inexperienced, and it had occurred to Ryoga that it might have been the first kiss Ranma had ever given anyone.

And then Ranma pulled back, before Ryoga could decide whether or not to hit him or shove him or even kiss him back. Just a few seconds had passed between them—between their lips—and then Ranma was gone, taking Ryoga's first kiss with him without even giving Ryoga the chance to make the most of it.

"Sorry," Ranma muttered, his voice thick as he ground a hand over his eyes, and then he was gone, disappearing back into the tent and leaving Ryoga crouched there, gaping, the hand that had been on Ranma's shoulder lying limply on the ground.

xxx

The first time they brought the kiss back up had been exactly five weeks and three days after it had happened.

Ranma had jumped back from his depression, but he kept his distance, not wanting to make Ryoga uncomfortable—or, at least, that was what Ryoga assumed. He'd never seen Ranma dance around him or his attacks so much; the pigtailed boy never held back on just attacking him before, so it was the only thing that made sense.

When Ranma actually told Ryoga one morning that he didn't want to train, Ryoga snapped.

"It was just a kiss, all right?!" he exploded, making Ranma jump.

"I get it!" he snarled, grabbing the front of Ranma's shirt and hauling him halfway out of the sleeping bag. "You were pissed at Akane, you were angry and depressed! I was there and I was being nice, so I get that I was the fucking paragon of caring! I get it and I got over it! It was just a kiss, so get the fuck over it and get the fuck out here!" and with that he threw Ranma back into the makeshift bed and stormed out of the tent.

Ranma had been out in the next three minutes, and they both exchanged a sheepish glance before starting.

Ryoga didn't regret bringing it up. Awkward or not, it had helped Ranma ricochet back to his normal self, and they could finally get down to the real training.

xxx

The first time Ryoga had ever kissed Ranma was two weeks later, after a disastrous fight in China.

They had been attacked by… something. It had obviously bumbled into several cursed springs of Jusenkyo. The thing made Pantyhose Taro look fairly normal. An ox, a boar, a lizard, a lion, a bat, a vulture, and maybe a few more animals.

At first, they had thrashed it. It was just another animal. A miscellany of animals, but an animal nonetheless.

What they hadn't been able to see was the snake that took the place of the animal's tongue.

A Krait.

Ranma, cocky in all of his wonderful ways, had gotten way too close to the creature's face while trying out a new attack.

Ryoga saw the bite coming from a mile away.

Ranma didn't.

It took less than three minutes after that for Ryoga to smash the creature into the ground and rip the snake from its mouth. Then he had lifted Ranma onto his back, and bolted, the only thing on his mind being the nearest village and the panicked hope that he was going in the right direction.

As he paced frantically in the waiting room, he thought about how stupidly perfect the name of the waiting room was. A piss poor distraction to what he was really thinking about, and it hardly did the job of distracting him.

Kraits. Found in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, China, Malaysian Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo and scattered islands surrounding them. Responsible for many fatalities, notably in Sri Lanka. An irritable snake. Hunts even scorpions. Can strike with such speed that there is little chance of escaping. Haemotoxic venom. A powerful coagulant, causing pain, swelling, bleeding, and decreased blood pressure and heart rate. Famous for its tenacity in self-defense. He'd met a lot in his travels. Apparently, Ranma had not.

When the doctor had finally come out, saying that Ranma should recover with little problems, Ryoga had been just about ready to cry.

The bite on his arm was swollen and blistering, a stomach-turning red, with the fang marks dotted black. The color made Ryoga think of a papaya he had once sent Akane—in a sickening way.

Three hours later, when Ranma cracked one eye, choking out Ryoga's name in a puzzled tone, Ryoga had been at his side faster than the snake had been to bite him.

Ryoga couldn't ever remember being so scared in his entire life. Never when he fought Ranma, never when he thought Akane was going to figure out his curse, never.

Ryoga hadn't even questioned his actions when he leaned down and kissed Ranma, being careful not to touch the bite as he gripped Ranma's shoulders firmly, as if he was the one keeping Ranma from falling into death's arms. He was almost positive that he hadn't imagined Ranma's sigh.

Later, when the doctor came in to inform Ryoga that it was time for him to leave, he could only smile when he found Ryoga asleep, his head resting on Ranma's cot, clutching loosely at Ranma's hospital gown. The doctor closed the door as he left the room, scribbling a note on the patient's chart for the next time the nurse went in to re-administer the antivenin to expect someone in the room, and that it was no cause for calling security.

xxx

The first time the line between friend and lover had been crossed was two and a half months into their training.

Ryoga had been so furious, his glass about to burst in his hand as he watched Ranma's female body throw herself—almost more drunk than he was—at four different guys. She was sitting on one of the guy's laps for fuck's sake. But it wasn't until one of the guys grabbed Ranma's boobs from behind, squeezing them hard while Ranma just laughed and let the guy she was sitting on hold her closer that Ryoga threw back the rest of his drink and marched over there. Better to get Ranma out now before she did something stupid that would have enough evidence so that she wouldn't even have to remember.

Or he could just kill the fuckers hanging on her.

Yeah, he liked that idea much better.

Ryoga's hands found their greasy hair, smashing heads together while people screamed and gasped as the guys dropped like lead to the floor. He didn't bother to check and see if they were alive. Ranma just sat there in the now vacated seat, trying to figure out if she was more amused by Ryoga's actions or pissed that he'd taken her fun away.

"You have a fiancé, Ranma," Ryoga growled, flexing his fingers, watching from the corners of his eyes and just **daring **one of the guys to wake up.

Ranma gaze hardened, resembling liquid nitrogen in Ryoga's hazy state, her glare cold enough to be just that.

"Actually, I have several," Ranma snapped, throwing back the rest of her own drink and leaning against the counter, where her strap slid off her shoulder. "And probably more out there that I don't even know about. What's a few more? It's not like any of them actually care about me."

Even smashed out of his skull, Ryoga could easily tell that Ranma's mind was only on one fiancé, though he could have easily been talking about a few more. Not that it was hard to see the heat in Ranma's eyes that he only took on when talking about Akane.

Ryoga, unable to come up with a coherent retort, grabbed Ranma's wrist, pulling her up and flipping her over his shoulder as she yelped, grabbing onto the back of his belt to steady herself. He grabbed a pot of water someone had ordered for tea on the way out and dumped it over Ranma's head once they were out of the bar. Well, at least they knew the training was working. He hardly felt the change in weight as Ranma shifted forms. Ranma's distinctly male voice groaned from behind him, slumping down.

"Why haven't you kissed me again?" Ranma mumbled dejectedly. Halfway through a step, Ryoga choked slightly and stumbled, nearly dropping Ranma on his head.

"W-W-What?!" Ryoga spluttered once he'd regained his footing. Ranma squirmed, kicking slightly and forcing Ryoga to set him down, where he almost fell flat on his ass, forcing Ryoga to reach out of grab his arms. Ranma took a hold of Ryoga's shoulders once he was stable, as if it would help his balance somehow.

"Well," he started off in a murmur, eyes sadly trained on the ground, "I kissed you, and it was weird, but then it wasn't, and then you kissed me again, but you haven't done anything else."

Ranma's bottom lip poked out. "And Akane doesn't care about me, the brick-chick."

"Ranma!" Ryoga slurred at the insult, lunging forward to hit the pigtailed boy, but even drunker than an Irish barman, Ranma's reflexes were sublime, and Ryoga ended up stumbling forward at the miss—right into Ranma's arms, where Ranma promptly lost his balance and followed suit, tipping over on top of Ryoga.

"Oof!" Ryoga huffed at the landing, but his recovery was short lived as Ranma clambered eagerly up to be closer to his face.

"Didn't you like this kisses?" Useless babble just poured out of his mouth. "Didn't you? They were good, weren't they? I've never really kissed anyone before—Akane's doesn't count, I was in Nekoken, and hell if that damn skater counted as a kiss—I've never kissed anyone else. They weren't that bad, right?"

Thoughts were jumbling around in Ryoga's head, trying to form a rational reply to Ranma's blather, when Ranma's lips suddenly slammed sloppily against his, knocking his head back into the ground.

He wasn't sure how they got to the next part. All he knew was that Ranma's tongue—even coated in the grossest of alcohol—tasted wonderful, but that could have been because he was drunk; and their pants were shoved down around their knees, Ranma jerking frantically between his legs, breathing hard into his mouth with his tongue lolling out so it could ghost over Ryoga's; and he'd never felt something as delicious as Ranma's toughened hands gripping his cock, squeezing it against his own as Ryoga tried to pull him closer, grinding hard against everything that made him tingle.

Ryoga was doing something like this for the first time with someone else, right in the middle of the deserted street, lying in puddles of mud and filth, and it was the most romantic thing he'd ever done.

But that was probably the booze.

xxx

The first time Ryoga took Ranma, Ryoga was pissed at Ranma. Not that that was an oddity, but this time, he was mad because of the sheer number of girls Ranma attracted. Now he understood where Akane was coming from.

It really didn't show much—he thought he was doing a good job of hiding it—until later when they were sparring and he nailed Ranma with a jab so hard he almost knocked Ranma unconscious. The only reason, though, that he'd been able to hit him so hard was because it was such a sloppy blow that Ranma had never been expecting something so amateur coming from him. It made him growl and clench his fist as he stood staring at Ranma's stunned face as the pigtailed man coughed, spitting wads of dirt out. There was a sizable chunk taken out of the ground where Ranma's mouth had hit.

"What the fuck was that?!" Ranma snapped, leaning up on his elbows to wipe off his chin.

Ryoga was pissed. Later, he would account his actions to that as he stood looking down at Ranma—flat on his stomach against the earth—and dropped down on top of him, landing solidly between his legs and laying his lips on Ranma's neck, pinning him down hard by his shoulders when Ranma barked out a surprised sound and tried to shove himself off the ground.

"Ryoga, what the—get off of me!" Ranma shouted, squirming hard against his holds, shrieking slightly as Ryoga grabbed his pants and started wrestling them down, as if he was in his female form and Ryoga wasn't fucked up in the head. Ryoga slowed when Ranma hunkered down suddenly into the ground, ceasing all movements but his nervous squirming, now oddly quiet, but didn't stop until Ranma's pants were around his ankles. Ranma also didn't stop Ryoga from yanking his own pants down, though Ryoga let go of his arms as he did to give Ranma one last moment to escape. Though, if he were to admit it to himself, Ranma could have easily gotten free from Ryoga's hold if he'd really wanted to.

Ryoga laid back down on his arms after spitting heavily into his hand and running it over himself. His elbows were wrapped around Ranma like a cocoon, almost protecting Ranma as the pigtailed boy ducked his head into the dirt, and Ryoga pushed in slowly. Mad or not, unlike Akane, he really didn't want to hurt Ranma.

Ranma grunted loudly as Ryoga forced more of himself in, but didn't make any indication that he should stop, so he didn't until he couldn't go any further, his head buried in Ranma's shoulder as the two heaved.

Ranma let out another sound as Ryoga worked himself up onto his knees—sharp, and almost in pain—but Ryoga knew the other boy's pride, and wouldn't stop until Ranma specifically told him to. Ryoga gripped his hips and urged him up too, until Ranma's hands and his face, which was hidden in his arms, were the only things still on the ground.

"I'm moving," Ryoga warned him, taking a hold of his shoulders. He hadn't expected anything in return, but smiled slightly when Ranma nodded weakly from below him.

Ryoga's heavy gasping was quickly followed by Ranma's as Ryoga moved against him, and Ryoga thanked the gods for Ranma's admirable pain tolerance. Ryoga leaned forward into Ranma's slick back, drenched with sweat, gripping him around his torso with one hand, the other on the ground for balance as he jerked forward and back into Ranma, kissing Ranma's neck and wishing idly that Ranma was turned around so he could really kiss him.

Ranma shoved off the ground suddenly, the strength Ryoga knew had been there kicking in, and grabbed himself with one hand, the other one on the ground to keep him and Ryoga stable. Ryoga's free hand quickly joined Ranma's on his cock, and Ranma let out a shout so loud Ryoga was scared for a second that he'd hurt him. But Ranma's head was thrown back now, his pigtail draped across Ryoga's shoulder, his mouth dropping open, his face deeply flushed and his eyes pinched tightly shut.

Ryoga watched in awe as Ranma's controlled movements spasmed more and more, his closed eyes clenching and his breath hitching as he grew closer, and then Ranma let out a loud, choked groan and something dribbled down Ryoga's fingers. He didn't even realize he'd cum from the sight of Ranma like that until his vision started spotting suddenly, and then he groaned, the feelings clawing through his body and making him shake against Ranma.

They stayed like that for a moment, breathing hard, until Ranma's shaky hand left his cock and found the ground, slowly lowering them down until they were lying one on top of the other.

Ryoga still wished Ranma were the other way so he could kiss him, but he supposed that could wait.

xxx

The first time Ranma took Ryoga they were back at the Tendo Dojo for a visit. Accidental visit, of course, Ryoga had been directing the cart driver they had hitched a ride on while Ranma slept. Ranma, for as long as he lived, would never be able to figure out how Ryoga had gotten them back to Japan from the mainland, or why the driver had gone so far.

They had both received a warm welcome home, with hugs all around and a swift bill from Nabiki for tracking dirt in over the floors, but even Akane had seemed happy to see Ranma—though she didn't go as far as to hug him. Just a quaint smile. Cute. Ryoga's returning smile felt tight.

The more Ranma and Akane talked—and the more Ranma smiled around her, happy that they could finally have a normal conversation that they both enjoyed—the tighter Ryoga became inside, until his spine was so tightly wound that he was afraid to move, lest he snap on the next poor person who walked by him. God forbid it should be Kasumi. Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome sent each other weird looks all afternoon, but had enough brains not to say anything about it. When Ryoga heard Nabiki mention to Kasumi that he "was probably jealous over Ranma moving in on Akane again," he stalked off to cool down outside, but by the time he'd made eight or so rounds of the house and still hadn't found a door leading outside, he'd been calm enough to return to everyone else—which had taken him another twenty minutes.

Come dinner time, Ranma had been so comfortable with Akane—almost pressed up against her as they worked together with the kitchen—that Ryoga had been seriously afraid that Ranma would cancel the rest of their training and just come back home, until the usual happened:

"And we also passed through this tribe in the mountains in China," he laughed as Akane smiled back, "and they have this weird custom where the women of the tribe pick out of eligible husbands by watching them fight in a tournament to see who the best fighter is, and if more than one girl picks the same guy, they duke it out to see who gets him."

Ranma chuckled again, dumping the vegetables into the pot at his side. "And the chief's daughter was choosing this time, and the guy got this mountain of food and Ryoga and I hadn't eaten in weeks, so he said we should join in."

Ryoga smirked, remembering that. He was joking, of course, but they were **this close** to joining because of how hungry they were. Ryoga had also teased Ranma about having too many fiancés, so Ryoga should be the only one to join in, but Ranma smartly left that part out around Akane.

Akane wasn't laughing though anymore. And her face had taken on this ominous shadow. Ryoga's smile dropped.

"You probably wanted to," she muttered finally, her face blank.

"…Huh?" Ranma blinked, his smile flipping from the sudden switch in the conversation.

Akane rounded on him, the knife tight in her grip. Ryoga twitched at that, unconsciously readying himself to jump in. He didn't miss the unconscious step that Ranma took away from her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you'd joined the fight and gotten another fiancé."

"What the hell does that mean?" he snapped back.

"You know you would have joined that fight just to prove how strong you are!"

"**Ryoga** said it and he was **kidding**! Why would I have actually joined that fight if I knew the outcome?!"

"You kicked Shampoo's ass without a problem!"

"As a **girl**! And I didn't know what that would **do**!"

"Oh yeah right, Ranma! You love when she comes over and brings food!"

"Actually, you dummy, these past few months without her have been the best ones of my life since getting here!"

"What?! So you're saying you hate being here at our house?!"

"When did I say that?!"

"You've probably been trying to get away from here for years—I know you have! To get to Jusenkyo, you've been trying since you got here to leave!"

"To get rid of my curse! **Yeah**, I **have**! And what's it to you?! It's not like you even care!"

"Ranma, I hate you! Just go back to training and leave!"

Ryoga winced at the hollow smash that followed in the kitchen and made a mental check of the medical things he had in his pack, already planning to fix Ranma up later. It had become a sort of meditative pass time that they actually quite enjoyed. He glanced up to find everyone else's expressions melancholy, and many of them annoyed. It seems he hadn't been the only one to not miss the fights between Ranma and Akane these past few months.

Nabiki sighed at the crashing of pots and pans echoed around the house, along with more names being volleyed back and forth between the two.

"It had been so oddly quiet these past months… but nice anyways."

Kasumi nodded before standing and pulling out the cleaning tools from the closet. Ryoga stood and took the broom from her, hoping that if he went in he could break up the fight before Akane **really **hurt Ranma.

Later, after Ryoga found the room he and Ranma were staying in at the house, twenty minutes later than he had set out, he opened the door to Ranma sitting in the pitch black of the room—still fuming if the tension in his shoulders meant anything. Ryoga closed the door behind him carefully and went to sit by him.

They sat in silence for a while before Ranma snorted darkly. "Why do I even bother coming here anymore?"

Ryoga honestly didn't have an answer to that.

"I could leave it all, right now," Ranma continued hotly, "get away from everything and no one would be able to do anything about it."

Ryoga sat for a second, looking down at his hands crossed in his lap. "…Would you let me come?"

Ranma was silent, and then very slowly he uncrossed his arms and crawled toward Ryoga, until their lips had touched. Ryoga went back as Ranma pushed him down against the futon, holding the back of Ranma's neck and kissing him as tenderly as he could as Ranma undressed them both, sliding his bandana off last. Ryoga couldn't help but be grateful that he was facing this way as Ranma pushed into him with a grunt, so that he could really kiss him, but he was also glad that the lights were out.

Ryoga gasped as Ranma pushed the rest of the way into him, and let his head drop back against the floor so he could breathe, where Ranma dropped his head until their foreheads were pressed together. This was a different kind of pain then he was used to from Ranma. He liked it.

Ranma took him slowly and silently, and it occurred to Ryoga that he and Ranma had both lost their virginities to each other. Ryoga had beat every one of Ranma's fiancés, and only by being there for him.

They left in the morning, much earlier than planned after yesterday's explosions, Akane still glaring at Ranma with death in her eyes. Ranma, to his credit, just ignored her, but Ryoga could see the uneasiness in his back. Whether it was from the fight, or the fact that Ranma was cheating on his fiancé though… Ryoga could only speculate. One thing was absolutely sure though: Ranma was sad. And it angered Ryoga that Akane would make him this sad even after last night.

On the way out of the city, Ryoga asked casually if Ranma wanted to see Ukyo—maybe cheer him up—but Ranma just paused before shaking his head, and it occurred to Ryoga that Ranma's conscience was beating him up about more than one fiancé. So they just left.

xxx

The first time Ranma had sex as a girl was a few weeks after returning to China from the Tendo Dojo.

It was days since they'd seen any sign of civilization. Or any other human beings for that matter. Sex had become a fairly regular thing during this time, and neither Ranma nor Ryoga could really say that they were upset by this fact.

Ranma, for whatever reason, had eased up the moment they really left Akane's range of attack and returned to China. Whether it was the out of sight out of mind aspect of cheating on his fiances (that didn't exist, according to the out of sight out of mind mannerism of thinking) or the fact that he was just so sick of his fiances that he honestly didn't care, Ryoga didn't honestly care to ask at this point.

Maybe if they had some alcohol, but not until then.

But the sex was good, and that was all Ryoga cared enough to think about.

And then the weather had hit.

There had been no actually rain—oddly enough. Just monstrous winds, which meant no fire, which meant no hot water. Ryoga and Ranma had both looked at each other, and after a moment's thought process, bluntly told the other, "Don't you dare get wet."

Sex with Ranma as a girl, after all, was off limits. Neither of them knew much about the depths of the curse, but they knew that girls could get pregnant, which put Ranma right in the danger zone, and sex with a pig was just… no.

Which of course meant that the next day, a wild boar had barrel by them right through a swamp and drenched Ranma.

Ranma looked down at herself, taking in the water dripping off her limbs before she shrugged and began wringing out her shirt. "Well, we just won't do it until we can boil some water or find a hot spring or something."

"Yeah," Ryoga agreed, shaking off his umbrella. "We'll have to."

The first few days had been ok. Both were a little twitchy after having become so accustomed to relaxing after training with a significant rush of hormones like dopamine and serotonin, and their bodies were protesting the lack of such drugs by producing extra amounts of lactic acid. The first three evenings, both spent the hours until nightfall limp and motionless by their tents (not pitched) and wordlessly cursing the wind and their lack of food at their mouths' immediate availability, lest their bodies remember how much in pain they actually were.

After three weeks, however, every punch both threw were actually causing serious damage to each other and the surrounding environment. They had long since chased off every animal that could have been edible and were both starting to really feel the irritation.

Ryoga leapt into the air, shooting like a bullet towards the tree where Ranma's nymph-like feet, impossible to catch, evaded everything he threw at her. He drew back his fist, letting out a mighty and seriously irked yell when Ranma vanished, reappeared in front of his face and drove her fist into his nose, all in a single moment that he had only seen because he hadn't happened to be blinking at that second.

His body rocketed back, smashing into the dirt where he skidded back hard, leaving a deep gorge in the ground behind him. He flailed for a moment, arms waving uselessly in the air, trying to regain his equilibrium, before finally sitting up on his already-swelling back and wiping the blood from his face harshly.

Ranma stood above him, her chest heaving and her eyes wild with so much anger and frustration and everything other emotion that would have scared Ryoga if he'd been sane at the moment. As it was, he wasn't right in the head, so without even thinking he swept his foot out and sent Ranma crashing to the ground, where she knocked his nose back up into his skull with her heel.

They were getting sloppy now. Really sloppy. Ryoga growled and lunged for her, grabbing her arm and wrenching her back, taking pleasure in the sound of her lung harshly expelling their air, before he suddenly froze and dropped her arm instantly, moving back slowly, lest she decide to attack again.

…He'd liked hurting her.

Not that—well… he'd always liked hurting Ranma.

But not like this.

She was still too, the only motion her body made a ragged breathing sound as she tried to reintroduce oxygen into her lungs.

"Damn it," Ryoga growled, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"…I give up," Ranma snarled suddenly, and before Ryoga could even blink, Ranma's weight came down harshly on his stomach and in one moment she tore his shirt clean in half.

"No! Ranma, wait—!" he tried, frantically fighting to pin her arms to her side, but even as a girl she was so strong. The training had helped a lot with that.

"I don't care, Ryoga!" Ranma shouted, kicking off her shoes and ripping off her shirt as she held his arms down with her knees. "I'm so horny I'm going to kill someone, and it's probably going to be you! I want you to fuck me, now! I don't care if I get pregnant, we have nine months to work that one out!"

"Ran—!" he tried again, but then her hand gripped him, impossibly tight and painful, but it felt so good that he nearly came on the spot.

"Don't you dare!" Ranma screamed, ripping the rest of her clothes off and clambering to get back on top of him.

She felt so good. So incredibly good.

He did miss Ranma though; the powerful, handsome Ranma he'd come to love being on top of, or under, or beside.

Or even just with.

They needed some hot water.

It'd been way too long since he showered anyways.

xxx

The first time Akane held Ranma as a friend was during a bout of hospitalization.

That lasted three weeks.

Ranma had thought many many times during those weeks that Ryoga wasn't going to make it.

Akane had gone many times to visit Ryoga, along with the rest of the Tendos, Ranma's dad, and even Ukyo once—not that Ryoga had been conscious to know it.

The first week they had brought flowers.

The second week they had brought food for Ranma, who almost seemed to be wasting away in the sickly blank walls of the hospital.

The beginning of the third week, everyone had blinked when Ranma hadn't been in Ryoga's room. Akane shifted uncomfortably and moved to tuck Ryoga in one more time. His eyes were closed, and she would almost call it peaceful if the air in the room hadn't been so tight.

No one wanted to, but everyone was watching the heartbeat on the monitor. The slow, spluttering heartbeat, that was just barely choking its way through every day.

The middle of the third week, after not a single sighting of Ranma, Akane had clenched her fists and marched out of Ryoga's room. Enough was enough, Ranma could suck it up and be there for his friend. She couldn't believe that he was being this selfish, and couldn't even be there for when Ryoga woke up.

She had walked the town leisurely for most of the day, huffing sharply when the streetlights suddenly flicked on and stopping to place her hands on her hips.

She'd even done a walk-by surveillance of Ukyo's restaurant, and not a single glimpse of him. Not even that damn annoyed tingle she always got when he was near. And the amazon bimbo had been traversing the rooftops again no doubt looking for some voodoo roof-growing root for a love-potion for Ranma, so no sight of him there.

Akane twisted in a circle, running through every possibility again in her mind. God, Ranma was so amazingly annoying. Really, it was a talent. She swore, he did everything specifically to piss her off just a little bit more every time—

Akane growled suddenly and stalked in the direction of town. She knew where he was.

The only place that would annoy her even more right now.

He was unbelievable sometimes.

Akane slammed open the door to the bar, but the loud bang was instantly drowned out by the thumping beat and erratic lights. The was the last bar in town, and she swore to every god that would listen that if Ranma wasn't in here she was going to personally kill him the next time she saw him for making her even walk into all of these gross businesses. She'd seen more boobs tonight than her entire high school career in the locker room for gods' sakes. And **that** was amazing too, in and of itself, that and the fact that when she saw Ranma, her anger dispersed in an instant.

Akane couldn't remember him ever looking so… broken. He was like a stone cherub on a church entrance whose wings had been ripped from its back in a storm, stuck forever in a place and time where it had no control of anything in its destiny.

Akane sighed and shoved to his side, pushing some drunk guy out of the seat next to him and brushing off the seat quickly before she sat down.

She pursed her lips. Ranma had 8 shot glasses lined up in front of him. Akane took in his hunched posture, his far off stare, picturing him pacing the hallways of the hospital, as he had been doing every day for the first two weeks that they'd been visiting. He hadn't trained, he hadn't eaten, he hadn't even slept, and never once did he look in Ryoga's room while he was pacing. He never looked at Ryoga unless he was actually in the room. He had looked so lost, and out of his element.

"Hey Akane," he said finally, downing a ninth shot and adding it to the line. Akane sighed and ordered herself one. It was going to be a long night.

"Not staying in his room anymore?" she asked finally. She was pretty sure he heard the disappointment and anger in her tone from the way he flinched.

"…The doctors seemed to be getting annoyed with me."

"That's not true."

He didn't answer.

"Come on, Ranma, what's the real reason?"

Still nothing. Akane sucked in a couple deep breaths through her nose and ordered another shot. **Long** night.

Ranma snorted suddenly and Akane looked up from her drink, eyeing his dark smirk warily.

"A virus," he breathed darkly.

"…What?"

Ranma started stacking the shot glasses idly, watching them with the most pungent, vicious hatred that Akane could feel just leaking off of him.

"I've seen that guy get beaten, stabbed, kicked, trampled, punched, burned, roasted, smothered, frozen, choked, and damn near boiled to death… and a fucking **virus** is going to be the thing that kills him."

Akane choked on her drink a little. "…Y-you… wanted to be the one to kill him?"

Ranma's dark glare landed on her, and Akane felt her spine shiver, and switched to glare back at him.

"Right," he said finally, his voice cutting deep and quick, like a scalpel. "I've been traveling, training, and living with him for the past half a year or so and now I finally realize that I actually want him dead. You understand me so well, Akane, just like always."

Akane twitched and forced herself to take a deep breath. He was mad, obviously, and with nine shots in him. Tonight it would be dangerous to provoke him. She'd kick his ass tomorrow for threatening her.

"So, what? You think you can skip out on being by his side?"

"I'm not standing there and watching while he dies."

"You need to be there for him," Akane clenched her fist, jolting slightly when his eyes locked on her.

Black.

Ranma seemed to take a deep breath to calm himself. "I've stood by him through everything he's chosen and hasn't, through every dumbass decision and wrong turn that's taken us to the ends of the fucking earth, and I was there because I could be there for him."

Akane blinked, not entirely understanding what was hurting him so badly.

Ranma picked up the tenth shot that had been placed in front of him and swallowed half, swirling the remaining liquid around.

"I can't do anything."

Akane's brows furrowed as she waited for him to continue.

"I can't do… **anything**. I can't… be there for him, or fix him, or make him feel better, or wake him up, or talk with him, or train with him, or even fucking **touch** him."

He turned to look at her again, that same lost look swirling deep in his black eyes.

"I can't do anything, Akane. And I'm going crazy in that damn hospital, watching everyone else die around him and waiting for it to be his turn to flatline."

Akane didn't know what to do. She had no words, no thoughts that would fix this situation. Ranma was completely and entirely right. But still, he wasn't right. He couldn't be, because… because this wasn't what he did. This was wrong.

"You think he's ready to give up?" she asked finally, watching the way Ranma's grip tightened dangerously around the glass. "You really think he's just going to give up on you?"

"I've never seen either of you give up," she continued when he didn't speak. "You don't get to tell you or him or anyone when he's about to give up, because he's just as strong and stupid and stubborn as you are."

Ranma chuckled after a moment. "Of all the people," he breathed and finished the rest of his shot, adding the glass to the stack.

Akane twitched again. "What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

Ranma closed his mouth, staring at the counter in a weird… almost… guilty way. "Why, of **all** the people to find me, did it have to be you?"

"You're an asshole," Akane hissed, about ready to throw her drink in his face and stalk out, his volatility be damned—

"I slept with him, Akane."

The breath left her lungs in a short rush, and Akane was left sitting on the stool, staring with her mouth open. Ranma ran a hand over his eyes and leaned into the counter.

"We both…" he paused, not exactly knowing how to continue, "we've both fucked each other, and kissed, and slept in the same sleeping bag, and drank together, and… fucking… **bathed** each other and worn each other's clothes and shit and…" he cut off suddenly, but Akane still couldn't move. Her eyes felt funny, and they stung.

"The only thing I didn't do, that I **can't **do now, is tell him I love him," Ranma took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, "and of all the people to find me and try and comfort me that he's going to be fine so that I **can** tell him, is my fiance."

The thumping of the music filled the air between them for a while. And Akane just sat and stared as the tears slowly trickled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Akane," Ranma said finally. "I'm so sorry."

Well, they were never really right, she supposed. She sniffed quietly and swiped her sleeves under her eyes, brushing away any stray emotions from her face.

She would kick his ass tomorrow, she reminded herself.

"I mean," she tried halfheartedly, a nervous chuckle escaping her, "I've always wanted a gay best friend. And, well, I guess, you do dress a little too nicely. To, you know… be straight… I think… I mean…"

She stopped. She was no good with words.

"…So," she tried again, "when you told me you didn't feel anything for Ukyo or Shampoo or Kodachi—"

"I was being so fucking serious, Akane." Ranma's voice sounded so aimless, stranded on an island with no hope for any way out of situation. "You don't even know."

Akane hated him. And loved him. And felt sorry for him. And wanted to fix him and hug him and kiss him and tell him everything would be all right.

She kind of deserved this, she guessed. She'd never asked for Ranma's love. Because of the engagement, she'd kind of… expected it. She thought back to the way Ryoga had bandaged Ranma up that night when she and Ranma had fought, they way he'd stood so close to him and gone to check up on him that night to make sure he was ok.

Ryoga had wanted his love, and fought for it. And he'd won, fair and square.

Akane drew in a huge breath and let it all out in a rush, scrubbing at her eyes again.

"Then you really have to be at his side."

Ranma blinked, turning to watch her blankly.

Akane pursed her lips, clenched her fists, and shoved away every ounce of anger she had for him. For the moment. She'd kick his ass tomorrow. While he had a hang over. Served him right, making her do this.

"You think you get to sit here and tell me that you love him while you bail on being next to him? No, get up, put the damn drink down; we're going back, I don't care how messed up you feel right now. Because if he wakes up, and the first thing he sees **isn't **you, I'm going to be pissed."

Ranma opened and closed his mouth for a second before looking back forlornly at his drink and setting it down. He took out his wallet and left some cash on the counter, leaving enough to cover hers, she noticed, and followed her out of the bar.

She'd never had such an uncomfortable walk with Ranma. His hands in his pockets as he drifted like a ghost next to her, while she tried to figure out where the hell to put her hands. Folded? Crossed? Pockets? Behind her back? Fuck.

It took Akane a couple of minutes to coerce the night nurse into letting them see Ryoga, making up some horribly half-assed story about Ryoga being Ranma's half brother with the same adoptive mother and Ranma swore to their dead sister that died in a rogue boar accident that if something ever happened to Ryoga he would be there, but she finally let them by and Akane let out a deep breath, congratulating herself on being so calm after everything she'd just heard and with the monitor alarm of some patient's heart rate going off down the hall, blaring like a siren to her sensitive head.

She was going to beat Ranma's ass so bad tomorrow. He would never forget it.

Akane swallowed as the monitor's beeping grew louder and louder the closer and closer she and Ranma got to Ryoga's room.

Really, Ryoga was going to have to save him from her. He would never make her find him in such horrible conditions again.

Akane closed her eyes and clasped her fingers in front of her as a couple nurses dashed around them.

She swore to herself right then and there that Ranma would **feel** how uncomfortable she was tonight.

_Oh no._

Akane slowed, coming to a stop in front of Ryoga's room as nurses seemed to fly around him, pressing every button on every monitor and pumping everything into his veins as his heart rate leapt of the charts one second and flatlined another, Ryoga's eyes twitching violently under his eyelids.

Akane moaned slowly, turning around to hide her eyes and realizing suddenly that Ranma wasn't there behind her anymore.

"Ranma," she choked out, trotting backwards and away from the monitor. As far away from that horrific beeping as she could take herself.

"Ranma!" Akane rounded the corner sharply and walked right into him, jumping back at the sudden shock, her eyes filling up with tears at what was in front of her.

Ranma had pressed himself as far and flat into the wall as he could, one hand pressed tightly over his mouth, the other gripping his side and yanking at the fabric so hard that it was ripping as tears leaked slowly down his face.

Akane choked on another sob, and before she even realized what she was doing she grabbed Ranma in the tightest hug she could manage before Ranma's knees gave out under him and they both slid to the floor.

Akane held him as close as she could, hiding him in her shoulder and squeezing him every time he shook, trying to keep reality as far away from him as she could.

He'd protected her so many times, it was high time she repaid him.

Akane wasn't sure how long she'd held him. Long enough for her shirt to soak through and her legs to go numb. Ranma had started holding his breath a while ago to keep from sobbing, and it was all she could do to keep from punching him in the damn stomach to make him breathe.

Her eyes found the door to Ryoga's room again and again, completely against her will. Doctors rushed in and out, but she was too far away to hear the monitor.

Too far away to hear if it had stopped or not.

And she wasn't sure she wanted to try and make herself aware of the situation.

Akane tipped her head down again and laid her lips carefully against Ranma's head. He shuddered slightly, but other than that made no movements.

"He's not dead," she murmured.

"…Yet," Ranma's waterlogged voice rose up from her arms, and she sucked in a deep breath through her nose to keep from decking him.

"Get up," she ordered him suddenly, standing up and yanking on his shoulder. Ranma stumbled up, blinking as she started dragging him down the hall.

"No," he pulled back on her hand, realizing what she was doing. "No, I can't."

"Now, Ranma," she growled, yanking on him again. "I'm not sitting here with you while we wait for him to die."

"Akane, I can't!" His voice broke on the last word.

"Walk, Ranma! You don't get to let him lie there by himself! He needs you!"

"Akane—!"

"I mean it, Ranma! We're going to say goodbye to him if—"

"NO!" he snarled suddenly, making her jump. "I'm not saying—!"

"He needs you there!"

"**I'm not saying goodbye if he's not fucking** **dead**!"

"RANMA—!"

"Excuse me…!"

Both whirled to the sound of the voice, where two doctors and a nurse were standing behind Akane, their hands loosely in their pockets. Akane swallowed heavily as all of them shared a look.

Oh no.

"We, uh…" the doctor trailed off.

"We got him stabilized."

Akane's breath left her in a rush and the hand gripping Ranma fell to her side, pulling his hand down with hers.

"It's not permanent, we still won't know until he wakes up the extent of the damage or if he'll pull through, but you can… see him now." She paused. "If you want."

Akane looked back to Ranma, his tear-streaked face and disheveled clothes, his pained expression and drowning eyes. He didn't look ready to move.

Akane looked down at the hand in hers and gripped it reassuringly. "Come on," she tried again, tugging gently. Ranma swallowed and nodded, falling into step behind her.

xxx

Ugh, sorry for the useless page breaks, I'm still trying to figure out why this site won't let me do anything else with them -_- Just found this lying around my computer, thought it might be fun to have up :) Hope everyone enjoyed! Sort of an odd pairing, but hey, I'll try anything once.

Everyone bow down to RobustPhysics for pointing out that I'd pulled a dunce and accidentally killed Ryoga off at the end! I completely didn't intend that, I hate killing off main characters, and if I write a story like that I will specifically warn people because I personally can only read those at certain times.

(On that note, I apologize to Sia, who commented right after that the death was a good touch to the story; I'm a wimp, I can't kill main characters in stories like this. I write specific angst stories for those!)


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